President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk babysat young X in a bizarre moment of Oval Office history (Image: Getty Images)
During an executive order signing event hosted by President Donald Trump and billionaire in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Musk’s son seemed to steal the limelight, even prompting the president to label the young boy as a “high IQ individual,” though he did appear to tire of babysitting.
The order directs federal agencies to comply with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in their efforts to slash government spending. As Musk addressed reporters the boy appeared to say something to the president, and Trump even seemed to angrily turn away.
The boy then appeared to say something else and reached out to him in an apparent attempt to quiet the child while his father was speaking. At one point, the child also appeared to pick his nose, which is normal behaviour for a child of his age, but perhaps not in the Oval Office.
Musk has previously made a point of bringing his son, named X AE A-Xii, but Musk usually refers to him simply as X, to many events during the campaign. Many on social media were quick to criticise Musk for some even going as far as to claim he is using the child as a “prop.”
Elon Musk was accused of using his son as a ‘prop’ (Image: Getty Images)
As Musk addressed reporters with his son standing before him, the child appeared to say something to the president, causing Trump to seemingly turn away in irritation, reports the The boy then seemed to utter something else, leading Trump to reach out to him in an apparent bid to silence the child while his father was speaking.
Many social media users were quick to criticise Musk for bringing his son along on Tuesday. One user wrote: “Using his son as a prop. doesn’t belong in US government.”
Another expressed concern for Musk’s son, writing: “Why is he subjected to being a prop for his Dad? ” Trump has tasked DOGE with identifying wasteful government spending within federal agencies.
Musk is facing resistance from federal courts concerning access to sensitive Treasury Department records related to DOGE, as well as plans to put a large number of USAID staff on leave. US District Judge Carl Nichols, who was selected by Trump, endorsed an injunction on Friday, blocking an attempt to send thousands of overseas USAID workers on abrupt administrative leave and requiring them to relocate their families back to the US within 30 days, all at government expense.
President Trump and Elon Musk held a press briefing alongside the billionaire Tesla CEO’s son X AE A-Xii (Image: Getty Images)
The following day, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer obstructed DOGE from obtaining confidential data held by the Treasury, including Social Security and bank account numbers for countless Americans.
A federal appeals court subsequently refused to delay a judge’s order which mandated the Trump administration to dispense billions in federal grants and loans, just under an hour after Musk and Trump rounded off a joint press briefing on Tuesday. This comes even though states have stated the funds remain inaccessible due to a halted extensive federal funding pause.
Even though the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the urgent appeal, it anticipates that the lower court judge will promptly clarify his ruling. In an argument against the expansive initial court order that required continuous flow of all federal grants and loans, the Justice Department criticised it as an “intolerable judicial overreach.”